Er, that's how much? Restaurant dishes go ka-ching

Recent dining bills have left us agape: $133 for two at lunch? With no alcohol, and one of us had a salad? That would be Morton's

at 65 E. Wacker Drive, where the filet mignon Diane rings up at $37, sans sides.

Blame the $144 lunch at China Grill

(again, for two, no alcohol) on the $27 barbecue salmon and the $26 drunken chicken.

"We struggle with this every day," sighs Gerry Muldoon, general manager of China Grill, 230 N. Michigan Ave. "If you pop in and just look at the menu, it doesn't educate you on the concept: Portions are generous and meant to be shared."

Jennifer Miller, a Chicago native accustomed to fine dining, felt like her wallet got the grilling after a meal there. "For the amount and quality of food served, I spent more than I ever thought possible."